Bryston 28B³ Monoblock Power Amplifiers $11,995 (each) Review
January 20, 2019 Comments Off on Bryston 28B³ Monoblock Power Amplifiers $11,995 (each) Review
“The 28B³ is an excellent sounding amplifier. As the wattage specification may indicate, there was more than enough power to drive my inefficient MartinLogan Summit X electrostatic-hybrid Loudspeakers, which are also a very difficult load—their impedance drops to 0.5 ohms at 20 kHz. It is a pleasure to have large amounts of power which enables the amplifiers to grab firm control of the loudspeaker and present no signs of strain at louder volumes. There was always plenty of power on reserve.
The tonal balance of the 28B³ is very neutral. The low frequencies, the midrange and the high frequencies are evenly balanced in volume level. The bass is powerful, very deep, and very well articulated. The midrange is clear and very sweet at the same time. The high frequencies are also sweet and easy to listen to. You can listen to these amplifiers for long periods of time with absolutely no listening fatigue.”
McIntosh C2600 Tubed Preamplifier Review
January 19, 2019 Comments Off on McIntosh C2600 Tubed Preamplifier Review
“McIntosh’s proprietary HXD Circuitry for the built-in headphone amplifier put me in mind of SPL’s Phonitor X and its Matrix system, which is similar to McIntosh’s in that it is about experiencing headphone playback more as though listening – in the 3D-presentation sense – to a pair of stereo loudspeakers. Imbued with a wide and high sound stage that, like well-placed loudspeakers in a room, created a sense of extreme breadth in playback that like the Phonitor X, reminded me that headphone amplifiers not utilizing this type of circuitry can sound spatially smaller in comparison. The C2600’s headphone output can have HXD turned either on or off, so if this isn’t your cup of tea, you can get a more familiar headphone listening experience without it enabled. Utilizing a number of headphones of various impedance loads (from the Sennheiser 820 HD @300 Ohms, to the LCD-4z @15 Ohms) there was never any intimation of lack of drive or dynamics from the C2600. Resolution was outstanding without ever straying into etched, or sharp and pointy territory.”
Sonus Faber Sonetto II Speakers Review
January 18, 2019 Comments Off on Sonus Faber Sonetto II Speakers Review
“So then, did the Sonus Faber Sonetto II speakers cause me to change my listening preferences forever? Well, not exactly; but the invitation to explore that a bit of extra romance and sonic panache was delightful. In fact, these speakers are just exceptional. I think of the Sonus Fabers as mood speakers- as in, they put me in the mood! I can close my eyes and visualize myself cruising down the canals of Venice under the light of the stars, or maybe being serenaded along with mia amore by an Italian tenor in the town square. If that doesn’t make you want to smile, then I don’t know what would! Bellissimo!”
Goldmund Presents The New Prana Active Speaker
January 17, 2019 Comments Off on Goldmund Presents The New Prana Active Speaker
“Prana has been designed to provide a sound that is the closest to reality. No colouration, no noise, no distortion, the Prana reproduces entirely and exactly what has been recorded. It comes with the implementation of the Goldmund mechanical grounding technology that evacuates spurious vibrations that affect the signal quality. And if Goldmund is absolutely obsessed by sound quality, stubborn about providing its customers with the best existing reproduction, this is simply because only the highest level of realism can bring the highest level of pleasure and emotion.”
Acoustic Preference Gracioso 1.0 LE/ST speakers review
January 16, 2019 Comments Off on Acoustic Preference Gracioso 1.0 LE/ST speakers review
“For the sonic velocity they’re able to project they cannot be taken lightly, considering the cabinet’s size. The solid wood and segmental structure place them on a completely different map than most of the speakers on the market. And the value for the price cannot be overlooked by any measures. You’ll have a tough time finding fully solid wood speakers nowhere near the price, even without the stands that have the identical structure!. ”
Monoprice’s Monolith Liquid Spark
January 15, 2019 Comments Off on Monoprice’s Monolith Liquid Spark
“The amp’s front panel is straightforward, from left to right there’s a power button, 6.3mm headphone jack, a second four-pin stereo XLR balanced headphone jack, volume control knob and a tiny button that switches between the balanced XLR and single-ended RCA inputs. There’s also stereo RCA outputs. That’s it, the Liquid Platinum is an analog-only device, there are no digital inputs. What we get instead are two tubes poking through the top panel, they’re Electro Harmonix 6DJ8 tubes. The Liquid Platinum’s all-metal chassis feels solidly put together.”
MAGNEPAN 30.7 FOUR-PANEL DIPOLAR PLANAR LOUDSPEAKER $30,000/pair SYSTEM
January 14, 2019 Comments Off on MAGNEPAN 30.7 FOUR-PANEL DIPOLAR PLANAR LOUDSPEAKER $30,000/pair SYSTEM
“Are there caveats? Well, two would be the speaker’s size and price, both of which may prove daunting to would-be owners. Another involves seating positions relative to the speaker array. Because the 30.7 is very wide, you may find that if you sit too close to the speaker you eventually begin to hear the individual driver panels rather than a seamless, cohesive whole, which of course means that imaging and soundstaging won’t quite snap into focus as they should. So, bear in mind that set-up is partly about fitting the speaker into your room, but part is also about finding an optimal position for you relative to the speaker array. Finally, it pays to remember that this speaker requires powerful but also extremely high-quality amplification (such as permeates this issue – I’m specifically thinking of the Hegel H590 integrated amplifier tested on page 16) to give of its best.”
VanL Speakerworks Silhouette speaker $3,995 Review
January 14, 2019 Comments Off on VanL Speakerworks Silhouette speaker $3,995 Review
“That, however, is the only big caveat of the Silhouette. As a genteel speaker its voicing is delicious. I was taken aback at how thoroughly the Silhouette convinced that it was an elitist product. I normally do not like small towers, but I really like this one! No doubt the minimalist crossover, consisting of one resistor and one cap on the tweeter, is part of the appeal. John indicates that it is a unique series x-over that is very phase coherent. Also drawing my praise is the ultra low slope filter for the soft dome tweeter. Rising at only 3dB per octave, the tweeter is utterly indistinguishable from the wooden mid-bass driver. The resultant coherence both in terms of driver sets and the images on the soundstage is exemplary.
A surprise to me was my acceptance of the sound even though the speaker is short. Normally I chafe at the dwarfed scale of the presentation as offered by smallish towers, but in this case I had no impulse to jack up the front end and tilt the baffle backwards to elevate the soundstage. Even with the PureAudioProject Trio15 Voxativ I felt compelled to raise the front end using rubber hockey pucks to get the most out of the drivers. Do that to the Silhouette? No, sir! It’s just fine!”
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